Duni's Rexcell subsidiary will continue to make airlaid nonwovens for the hygiene market for another year, postponing a decision announced earlier this year to exit this marekt. The decision will reportedly allow Duni to operate profitably until the unit is closed.

Duni announced in February 2013 that it planned to close one of the three production units of its Rexcell Tissue & Airlaid AB subsidiary in Skåpafors, Sweden. The unit manufactures and sells input materials for the hygiene products industry. Rexcell expected operations to be fully phased out by the first quarter of 2014.

In collaboration with the trade unions, Rexcell has now decided to extend the operations for another year. As a result, one of the Rexcell production units is expected to be fully phased out by March 2015. Given that the subsidiary will nevertheless cut back on its production volumes, it has issued notices of termination for 23 employees.

“We will continue to manufacture input materials for hygiene products, while maintaining satisfactory profitability at the unit. The primary impact of the extension is that employees who are unaffected in the short run will have more time to retrain or find new jobs. Our decision to phase out production of input materials for the hygiene sector stands. Duni’s strategy of focusing on our core business remains in place. Our future growth will stem from products that enhance the atmosphere around the set table. That is the focus that will yield the highest return for our shareholders going forward, says Thomas Gustafsson, president and CEO of Duni AB.”